I'm struggling with my openings

i have tried 1...e5, c5, d5, e6, and now I am on c6. please don't just post the name, please post the moves, and the advantages (optional). please help.

If you are stuck, this is a good one to work through. You'll get an idea of the ideas and plans in the openings, and begin to see what is more comfortable for you and work around that. 

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Openings-Yasser-Seirawan-ebook/dp/B007CK6UFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500065550&sr=8-1&keywords=winning+chess+openings

This is a meaningless question unless you specify white's first move. I assume you mean, what should you play against 1 e4. Your tries e5, c5 (Sicilian), e6 (French), and c6 (Caro-Kann) are considered by grandmasters to be the best defenses, so you're on the right track! Pick any one of these (or even the Scandinavian d5) and learn how to play it. That's the hard part, of course. There's no opening you can pick up and play well right away. Chess is hard.

Personally I like the Caro-Kann. You certainly can't blame it for this loss. The opening was fine, you just need to work on your tactics.

Best Openings for beginners...

https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-openings-for-beginners

Principles of the Opening...

https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-principles-of-the-opening

Study Plan for beginners - Openings...

https://www.chess.com/article/view/study-plan-for-beginners-the-opening2

Chess Study Plans - general...

https://www.chess.com/article/view/study-plan-directory

Top mistakes of beginners...

https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-10-most-common-mistakes-among-chess-beginners

Tips to avoid blunders...

https://www.chess.com/article/view/3-tips-to-avoid-blunders

A good chess opening repertoire book for beginner-intermediate player...

My First Chess Opening Repertoire for White by Vincent Moret....

https://www.amazon.com/First-Chess-Opening-Repertoire-White/dp/9056916335/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498873652&sr=8-1&keywords=my+first+chess+opening+repertoire+for+white

More openings book suggestions...

Good Chess Openings Books for Beginners and Beyond....

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-openings-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

Possibilities:

Starting Out: Open Games by Glenn Flear (2010)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140626232452/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen134.pdf

Starting Out: Ruy Lopez by John Shaw (2003)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627024240/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen53.pdf

The Petroff: Move by Move

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7530.pdf

Starting Out: The Sicilian, 2nd Edition by John Emms (2009)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627122350/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen123.pdf

First Steps: The French
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7611.pdf

Opening Repertoire: ...c6

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7673.pdf

The Pirc: Move by Move

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7604.pdf

The Scandinavian: Move by Move
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626232217/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen171.pdf

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7270.pdf

A Chess Opening Repertoire for Blitz and Rapid by Evgeny Sveshnikov and Vladimir Sveshnikov

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9020.pdf

Winning Chess Openings by Yasser Seirawan (1999)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf

Do the queens gambit 

Against e4

Open game- e5

————————

pros: easy to play, prevents white from pushing e pawn to e5, develops bishop 

cons: lots of lines to remember

main line:

Sicilian-c5

———————

*my personal favorite

Advantages: aggressive, if opponent is not familiar with it you can easily beat them

Disadvantages: very tactical, difficult to master, easy to mess up

main line:

French: e6

—————

Advantages: Solid, Strong pawn structure 

Disadvantages: Cramped, hard to develop light squared bishop

main line: 

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5

Pirc: d6

———— 

Advantages: flexible, can be sharp or dull depending on how it’s played, strong influence on the way the game plays out

Disadvantages: lots of lines, whites play can be forcing

Main Line:

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6

Scandinavian d5

—————————

Advantages: blacks position has a lot of space to move pieces around

Disadvantages: loss of tempo

Main line 1.e4 d5 2.exd4 Qxd4 3. Nc3

Caro-Kann c6

—————

Advantages: develops all pieces, strong pawn structure

Disadvantages: spatial disadvantage

 1.e4 c6 2. d4 d5

What about Petroff?

I am showing the most common line. I acknowledge that there is the petrov’s defence (2... Nf6) and Philidor (2... d6).

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the petrov? I have just been playinng this game for a couple of months, so would like to know more.

I did very well for years with the O'Kelly variation of the Sicilian, and still play it sometimes. It's sound, though not one of the best known variations, and has the huge advantage that, if White plays the opening on automatic pilot with Nf3 and d4 (as most players below about 1800 do), then Black gets a very good game.

There's obviously a lot more to the opening than this, and you need to have something ready against anti-Sicilians, but the basics are easy to pick up. There's a good chapter in Dangerous Weapons: The Sicilian.